IMPACT OF EVOLVING CONSTRUCTION PROJECT MANAGEMENT ... · importance of evolving construction project management techniques namely lean construction, ... supplement an owner’s limited

International Journal of Civil Engineering, Construction and Estate Management

Vol.6, No.1, pp.1-16, May 2018

___Published by European Centre for Research Training and Development UK (www.eajournals.org)

1 ISSN 2055-6578(Print), ISSN 2055-6586(online)

IMPACT OF EVOLVING CONSTRUCTION PROJECT MANAGEMENT

TECHNIQUES FOR PROPER PROJECT DELIVERY: REVIEW ON

CONSTRUCTABILITY REVIEW, LEAN CONSTRUCTION (LC) AND VALUE

ENGINEERING (VE) TECHNIQUES

Prof. Wang En Mao1, Constant Mahame2, Desire Ndahirwa3

1School of Civil Engineering, Department of Civil Engineering Construction and

Management, Lanzhou Jiaotong University, China. 2MSc Student, Department of Civil Engineering Construction and Management, Lanzhou

Jiaotong University, China. 3MSc Student, School of Civil Engineering, Department of Structural Analysis, Lanzhou

University of Technology, China.

ABSTRACT: Throughout the existence of construction industry especially starting in the

period of industrial revolution, there have been many developments of different construction

techniques that can help the industry to reach success. Formed models but with unmet realities;

unsuccessful timely delivery of the projects, out of projected budgets and intended quality are

leading factors that still push industry players to seek the change in construction sector

worldwide. In other words past experiences of failure of existing construction management

tools have evidenced the search of the improved construction concepts that leads to industry

success hence customers’ satisfaction. One the other side, among different construction

concepts developed in a way of enhancing the industry; include lean construction,

constructability review and value engineering. Both latter tools focus on the use of knowledge

management to assessing inputs ahead of production process so to successfully achieve the

stated outputs. By that, they provide a good consideration for construction sector as significant

and impactful principles for proper project delivery. This review article aims to study the

importance of evolving construction project management techniques namely lean construction,

constructability review and value engineering in the construction industry particularly on

construction projects delivery; as well as to assess their current practice and impact.

KEYWORDS: Impact, Evolving construction project management techniques, Proper project

delivery, Constructability review, Lean construction, Value engineering

INTRODUCTION

For so many years ago, professionals in different industries have been seeking for improvement

in their particular sectors especially based on the competition, past experiences of failure or

success or even for the sake of delivering products that meet customers need, satisfaction or

claims. In this same way, the construction industry was not left behind majorly as among top

sectors contributing to the rapid world economic development and particularly in almost

countries’ national gross domestic product (GDP).

It is worldwide believed that the construction industry gets all its success to how buildable are

the designs which further leads to successful project completion, sustainability and durability

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of their products as the construction process is complex and starts with design and planning of

what is to be constructed.[1]

Owners or developers can have different primary ambitions before the project starts still with

the reflection to proper project delivery. The owner may primarily wish to have his property

fixed in the affordable budget with less regard on how long it will take or the quality delivered;

the other may primarily seek to see his project completed in a short period of time regardless

of the huge cost required and the quality delivered; and thirdly there is an investor who first

desires his property to be finished with the high quality countless of money and time it has to

take.

On the other side, undertaking any construction project is a process that involves not only many

bodies and organizations but also the effective and timely integration of construction

knowledge from the conceptual phase throughout to the completion.

In the highlighted regard of seeking the more beneficial concept to enhance the construction

industry success, not few concepts were developed and brought success to industry. Among

different construction concepts developed in a way of advancing the achievement of the

construction industry; include lean construction, constructability review and feasibility

assessment. Both principles focus on the use of knowledge management to assessing inputs

ahead of production process so to successfully achieve the stated outputs. Therefore they

provide a good consideration for construction sector as significant and impactful principles for

proper project delivery.

LITERATURE REVIEW

Definitions and Historical Background

Summarily, all the three named techniques share the common goals in terms of benefiting the

project delivery such as fewer changes and delays throughout the construction, reduced overall

project cost and increased value of the end product.

(1) Constructability Review

Historically, the concept of buildability emerged in the late 1970s as a direct result of research

and practical applications aimed at improving the efficiency, cost effectiveness and quality of

construction projects. In 1983, the Construction Industry Research and Information

Association, CIRIA, defined it as `the extent to which the design of a building facilitates ease

of construction, subject to the overall requirements for the completed building'. [2]

In contrast, research and construction practice in the USA focused more purposefully on the

concept of constructability [3]. Interests took advantage of the close link between building

owners and contractors, emphasising a management systems approach to think creatively about

the practicalities of the building process.

IPENZ (2008) [4] defined constructability as a project management technique to

review construction processes from start to finish during pre-construction phase. It is to

identify obstacles before a project is actually built to reduce or prevent errors, delays, and cost

overruns.


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_management

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Construction

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cost_overrun

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cost_overrun


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The term "constructability" defines the ease and efficiency with which structures can be built.

The more constructible a structure is, the more economical it will be [5]. Constructability is in

part a reflection of the quality of the design documents; that is, if the design documents are

difficult to understand and interpret, the project will be difficult to build. [6]

The term refers to:

The extent to which the design of the building facilitates ease of construction, subject

to the overall requirements for the completed building. [7]

The effective and timely integration of construction knowledge into the conceptual

planning, design, construction, and field operations of a project to achieve the overall

project objectives in the best possible time and accuracy at the most cost-effective levels

[3].

The integration of construction knowledge in the project delivery process and balancing the

various project and environmental constraints to achieve the project goals and building

performance at the optimal level. [8]

As per reference [4], the constructability need for different contractual approaches, and came

up to the following concepts:

Constructability reviews are easily managed for projects, where the contractor is

determined beforehand. The preferred contractor is engaged at the first client briefing

stage and is involved all the way through the design phases. The contractor is an integral

part of all design meetings and reviews all documents, plans, drawings, specifications,

tender documents and procurement schedules.

Construction companies involved in the tendering phase of a design-bid-build project

must conduct a constructability analysis before pricing the bid documents. This is

usually very difficult as there has been no prior communication about the design.

Constructability reviewers working for the construction company have to be very

experienced and fast on their feet in order to advise the bidding company on the

constructability issues that are likely to affect costs and schedules. Severe

constructability issues on design-bid-build projects can bankrupt a construction

company. There is a greater chance of bankruptcy if these issues are not identified up

front, or if uncompensated constructability risks are not properly analysed.

Construction companies involved in the tendering phase of a design-bid-build project must

conduct a constructability analysis before pricing the bid documents. This is usually very

difficult as there has been no prior communication about the design. Constructability reviewers

working for the construction company have to be very experienced and fast on their feet in

order to advise the bidding company on the constructability issues that are likely to affect costs

and schedules. Severe constructability issues on design-bid-build projects can bankrupt a

construction company. There is a greater chance of bankruptcy if these issues are not identified

up front, or if uncompensated constructability risks are not properly analysed.

Douglas and Gransberg in 2009 [9], studied the constructability contributions during project

phases and the following were remarks of considerations at each phase of the project:


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Requirements

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cost-effectiveness_analysis

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Service_delivery_framework

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goal

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Performance


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(i) Feasibility Phase: Often owners of projects do not have any “in-house” capability for

construction services, so they procure the services of a consulting firm to perform the initial

“feasibility phase” constructability review. The consulting firm works from the preliminary

design documents and provides useful suggestions that are incorporated into the design

package. The results of the constructability review can literally make or break a project’s

viability.

Constructability input as a service provided by either a consultant or construction management

firm during project activities prior to the start of construction is referred to as constructability

services. This constructability services approach during the conceptual or feasibility phase of

the project provides the owner with a facility that meets all its project objectives. This approach

often combines the benefits and costs of constructability with other services provided such as

value engineering, risk management, and project planning. The services are primarily to

supplement an owner’s limited resources for early planning and design evaluation.

Constructability improvements obtained through the use of constructability services “is more

a by-product of early construction involvement rather than an intentional attempt to avoid

unnecessary construction difficulties. As a result, this approach tends to be informal.”[5]

Additionally, an owner that is exploring the potential feasibility of a given project will want to

limit its costs to the minimum necessary to determine economic feasibility. Thus, the focus of

a feasibility phase constructability review will be to generate alternatives that can be expanded

by conceptual design decisions in a manner that permits the necessary financial and schedule

considerations for each alternative to be determined with the requisite degree of certainty by

cost engineering specialists or equivalent. Essentially, the constructability reviewer/consultant

will furnish the owner with options that were not contemplated by the designer.

(ii) Early Design Phase: As the architects/engineers develop the project design; the owner

typically retains a second team of specialists who specialize in providing construction

management (CM) services. The constructability review takes place as the construction

documents are being developed. This CM team will perform a detailed constructability review

(CR) of the proposed project documents: design drawings, technical specifications including

specified construction materials, the proposed site layout and if available; the construction cost

estimate and project milestone schedule. This review effort will focus on whether the project

can be built as designed and must be conducted at a point in time were design effort is not lost

by incorporating CR recommendations. The CM/CR team effort will provide suggestions on

ways to improve the project: such as a more efficient site layout, alternate construction

materials, and identifies possibly detrimental design specifications that could result in long lead

time procurements or exotic construction techniques. All of this constructability review

information is provided to the owner (who has optimally been a participant throughout) along

with their expert construction opinion about the probability for the construction success of the

project.

These construction management specialists can also assist the owner in establishing the

philosophy, procedures, and tracking systems during pre-detailed design activities for the

project. Although typically an informal aspect of the constructability program, the application

of this approach to provide construction input is typically limited to specialized projects.

Formal corporate-level tracking of lessons-learned and cost/benefit data resulting from

constructability implementation is a best practice but is not routinely performed.

(iii) Procurement Phase: When the overall project design is approximately 60 to 90 percent

complete, the owner retains a construction management firm to prepare the project for the



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procurement phase: the preparation of subcontracts and procurement bid packages, pre-

qualification of vendors, suppliers and trade contractors. These procurement bid packages must

be complete design packages in order to provide the qualified bidders with the information

necessary to make intelligent cost proposals for the overall success of the project.

On the hand, during the subcontractor procurement process, after receipt of the request for

proposal (RFP), the various bidding contractors will normally conduct their own

constructability reviews prior to bidding. Constructability clarification questions are frequently

transmitted to the owner’s representative who provides additional information about site

conditions, ambiguous or missing construction details, and often the bidding contractors may

propose alternate construction methods for consideration. Although typically not a formalized

aspect of the constructability process, these are also important elements of constructability and

this request for information (RFI) process during the request for bids must be established in a

manner that allows it to capture unexpected constructability input from subcontractors during

the procurement phase.

(iv) Construction Phase: Constructability continues to be a viable tool for the success of the

project after the award of the major contracts and purchase orders. For example, a mechanical

contractor, employing formal or informal constructability reviews for their scope, may

determine that certain piping components could be fabricated in their shop and economically

transported by truck to the project site, thereby improving both labour productivity and reduce

the field costs for that large component of the work on a project. The owner, the engineer, and

the CM must remember that trade subcontractors are the technical experts in their field and

must include construction contract language that encourages constructability improvement

suggestions as well as requests for material and means substitutions. The submittal review

process must be established to identify potential constructability improvements and then

analyse the impact of implementing them on both project budget and schedule.

(v) After Action Reviews: Constructability does not end when the project is completed. Often

the project participants are in a hurry to close out the project and move on to another assignment.

Either there is elation over the success of the project, or there is a strong desire to put their bad

experiences behind them and move on. In either case, there should be a formal review to capture

the constructability lessons learned on the project. The corporation should establish a

constructability database. “Implementing that approach, it is believed that the constructability

review program will initially experience large incremental increases in total-annual

documented savings. However, as the program matures, and the design and construction

processes are optimized, the program’s incremental increase in total annual documented

savings reach a steady-state condition. In the “mature” state, additional documented

constructability savings are realized through application of new construction methods and

technologies.”[5]

(2) Lean Construction

Abdelhamid (2007)[10], defined Lean construction as a combination of operational research

and practical development in design and construction with an adaption of lean manufacturing

principles and practices to the end-to-end design and construction process. Unlike

manufacturing, construction is a project-based production process. Lean construction is

concerned with the alignment and holistic pursuit of concurrent and continuous improvements

in all dimensions of the built and natural environment: design, construction, and activation,

maintenance, salvaging, and recycling. Koskela et al. (2002)



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[11], explained Lean construction as a “way to design production systems to minimize waste

of materials, time, and effort in order to generate the maximum possible amount of value".

Historically, Lean construction came out as a new concept since the mid-1990s. Lauri Koskela,

in 1992, challenged the construction management community to consider the inadequacies of

the time-cost-quality trade-off paradigm. [12]

(3) Value Engineering

Value engineering (VE) is a structured and analytical process that seeks to achieve value for

money by providing all necessary functions at the lowest cost consistent with required levels

of quality and performance [13]. It is sometimes taught within the project management or

industrial engineering body of knowledge as a technique in which the value of a system’s

outputs is optimized by crafting a mix of performance (function) and costs. In most cases this

practice identifies and removes unnecessary expenditures, thereby increasing the value for the

manufacturer and/or their customers

Value Engineering (VE) is conducted to provide recommendations for:

1. Providing the needed functions safely, reliably, efficiently, and at the lowest overall cost;

2. Improving the value and quality of the project; and

3. Reducing the time to complete the project

Referring to Wikipedia notes, Value engineering began at General Electric Co. during World

War II. Because of the war, there were shortages of skilled labour, raw materials, and

component parts. Lawrence Miles, Jerry Leftow, and Harry Erlicher at G.E. looked for

acceptable substitutes. They noticed that these substitutions often reduced costs, improved the

product, or both. What started out as an accident of necessity was turned into a systematic

process. They called their technique "value analysis".

Differences of Constructability, LC and VE

Despite sharing some goals and responses towards the challenges facing the construction

industry; the 3 tools have some differences in terms of their application in achieving the project

objectives.

(1) Constructability Review versus Value Engineering

In their investigation, David A. & et.al, 2002 [14]; compared value engineering to

constructability approach and found that, there is agreement by the large majority of the

respondents (91%) that value engineering (VE) cannot replace constructability. This was

rationalized by the comments made by respondents to stress the distinction between the two

processes, such as ‘‘these are two different issues,’’ and ‘‘these have different goals,’’ and

‘‘VE comes much later in the process.’’

The primary objective of VE is to reduce the total life-cycle cost of a facility; whereas,

constructability focuses on the optimization of the construction process. VE is normally

performed during the design phase of the delivery process. An effective formal constructability

program ideally begins during the conceptual planning phase and continues through

construction. Conducting constructability reviews can act as a precursor to VE, providing


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_Electric_Co.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_War_II

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_War_II

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lawrence_D._Miles


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information through construction input and lessons learned from past projects so that VE may

be more effective. Although constructability reviews and VE might differ in terms of focus,

implementation, and timing, activities within the two work processes may complement each

other in achieving their goals [15].

(2) Differences between LC to Constructability Review & VE Approaches

There exist differences between the Lean Construction (LC) approach compared to

constructability review and Value engineering.

Howell, 1999 [16] as well as many writers talked about the difference between LC to other

project management approaches, including:

Managing the interaction between activities and combined effects of dependence and

variation, is a first concern in lean construction because their interactions highly affects

the time and cost of projects;

Lean construction is developing new forms of commercial contracts to give incentives

to suppliers for reliable work flow and optimization at the deliverable to-the-client level;

Lean construction tries to increase transparency between the stakeholders, managers

and labourers, in order to know the impact of their work on the whole project;

In his PhD thesis; Ballard, 2000 [17] highlighted differences of LC to other approaches and

said that:

In the lean approach, pull techniques govern the flow of information and materials,

from upstream to downstream; whereas in others, push techniques govern the release

of information and materials.

In lean construction, decision making is distributed in design production control

systems; by comparison, whereas in others, decision making is centred to one manager

some times

In the lean approach, downstream stakeholders are involved in front end planning and

design through cross functional teams, while doesn’t consider this issue.

Abdelhamid et al. 2008 [18] stated that Lean Construction encompasses Project and Production

Management, and formally recognizes that any successful project undertaking will inevitably

involve the interaction between project and production management.

2.3 Principles of Practise of Constructability, Lean Construction and Value Engineering

(1) Constructability Review

The Construction Industry Institute (CIIA 1993) [19], described the principles of working of

constructability as follows:

Integration, Constructability must be made an integral part of the project plan.

Construction knowledge, Project planning must actively involve construction knowledge and

experience.



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Team skills, the experience, skills and composition of the project team must be appropriate for

the project.

Corporate objectives, Constructability is enhanced when the project team gains an

understanding of the client's corporate and project objectives.

Available resources, the technology of the design solution must be matched with the skills

and resources available.

External factors, External factors can affect the cost and/or program of the project.

Program, The overall program for the project must be realistic and construction-sensitive, and

have the commitment of the project team.

Construction methodology, the project design must consider construction methodology.

Accessibility, Constructability will be enhanced if construction accessibility is considered in

the design and construction stages of the project.

Specifications, Project constructability is enhanced when construction efficiency is considered

in specification development.

Construction innovation, the use of innovative techniques during construction will enhance

constructability.

Feedback, Constructability can be enhanced on similar future projects if a post-construction

analysis is undertaken by the project team.

(2) Lean Construction

As summarized by Womack & Jones (1996) [20], There are five fundamental principles for

lean thinking, which have to be followed step by step to gain the maximum benefit of the lean

success: (1) Specify Value: Specify value from customer’s own definition and needs and

identify the value of activities, which generate value to the end product; (2) Identify the Value

Stream: Identify the value stream by elimination of everything, which does not generate value

to the end product. This means, stop the production when something is going wrong and change

it immediately. Processes which have to be avoided are miss production, overproduction

(repeat production of the same type of product, etc.), storage of materials and unnecessary

processes, transport of materials, movement of labour workforces and products, and finally

production of products which does not live up to the wished standard of the customer as well

as all kind of unnecessary waiting time; (3) Flow: Ensure that there is a continuous flow in the

process and value chain by focusing on the entire supply chain. Focus has to be on the process

and not at the end product. However, the flow will never get optimal until customer value is

specified, and the value stream is identified; (4) Pull: Use pull in the production and

construction process instead of push. This means produce exactly what the customer wants at

the time the customer needs it and always prepared for changes made by customer. The idea is

to reduce unnecessary production and to use the management tool ‘‘Just In Time’’; and (5)

Perfection: Aims at the perfect solution and continuous improvements. Deliver a product which

lives up to customer’s needs and expectations within the agreed time schedule and in a perfect

condition without mistakes and defects. The only way to do so is by having a close

communication with the customer/client as well as managers, and employees are between.



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(3) Value Engineering

Apart from project selection, team selection done during pre-study, the value engineering

workshop is done in the following 6 key steps [21]:

Information; this first phase requires an assembling a package to distribute information to

invitees. Plus oral presentation at beginning of study.

Functional; the purpose of this phase is to clearly identify the function of the project and to

formulate a concept from which new direction can be taken.

Speculation; the team studies and brainstorms as many ways as possible to reduce initial or

lifecycle cost while still maximizing the function.

Evaluation; the team evaluates ideas produced during brainstorming. Some ideas become part

of final solution while others are deemed inefficient or unworkable.

Development; Many of the ideas that passed the evaluation phase are further developed into

workable proposals. Each recommendation will be accompanied by a short narrative with a list

of positive and negative aspects of each proposal along with cost comparisons.

Presentation; lastly, the team makes a formal written presentation of their findings

accompanied with an oral presentation to clients, users and designers. In this final stage, the

client can determine which value management proposals will be incorporated into the project

in order to reduce costs and increase overall value.

At the end of all above key steps performed during work study, there come the implementation

and report results to be done as post-study’s duties.

Barriers to Constructability Review, Lean Construction and Value Engineering

Constructability Review

A barrier to constructability is any significant inhibitor that prevents effective implementation

of the constructability program. Barriers to successful implementation of constructability

programs are present in almost all organizations at both corporate and project levels.

According to O’Connor & Miller [22], initial efforts should focus on determining the presence

and relative significance of constructability barriers.

Project constructability is mainly affected by factors such as;

Faulty, ambiguous, or defective working drawings

Lack of construction experience/qualified personnel

Lack of financial incentive for the designer

Incomplete specifications and budgetary limitations

Lack of early involvement of project contractor during the design stage and the

regulatory not being vigilant.



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Complacency with the status quo

Reluctance to invest additional money and effort in the early stages of a project

Limitations of lump-sum and design-build contracts

The designers’ perception that they already perform an analysis

Lack of mutual respect between constructors and designers

Construction input that is requested too late to be of value

Etc

Lean Construction

The lean principles can only be applied fully and effectively in construction by focusing on

improving the whole process where all parties have to be committed and work together to

overcome obstacles that may arise from conventional contractual preparation [23]. However in

order to achieve the successful implementation of lean construction, the barriers are inevitable.

In an attempt to understand the barriers, the review on the various literatures have enabled the

authors to identify and generalized the specific barriers into six different categories.

(i) Management aspect: Management operate through functions that are often classified as

planning, organizing, leading and controlling. This group of people will reinforce and promote

the substantial amount of initiative to the subordinates to participate, drive and control the work

and management of each project [24]. Therefore the success of lean implementation practice

will depend on how well they support and motivate the people to work toward each planned

goal.

(ii) Financial aspect: Managing the project’s finances is among the complicated job in the

construction project management. One of the crucial parts is to obtain the source of funding to

finance the projects. Substantial amount of funding is needed to obtain relevant equipment for

the project and to hire the lean specialist in order to guide each party involved in the

implementation of lean concept [25].

(iii) Educational aspect: This factor is crucial for the implementation process to be successful

since it provides the practitioner with the relevant knowledge and guidance relating lean

construction while improving the communication and integration among each party [26]

(iv) Governmental aspect: This factor touches the issue regarding the government policies and

their attitudes toward the construction industry players. As asserted by Alinaitwe [27] in the

research finding it stated that government bureaucracy, lack of social policies, inconsistency in

policies, lack of social amenities and infrastructure, material unavailability and fluctuation in

commodities price were among the barriers associated with governmental aspect.

(v) Technical aspect: According to Kamar et al [28] the technical knowledge of a construction

project can be derived from the process of training and education. Thus, the personnel will be

equipped with the relevant knowledge and have a clear understanding on any technical issues

related to the construction work process. An example of technical aspect is lack of technology,

complexity of design and construction and lack of specialist.



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Value Engineering

Majorly, the barriers to value engineering are based on perception of any contract players and

the familiarity and experience of the project team in applying VE principles. Some of barriers

to VE include:

The owner’s perception of an engineering firm’s desire to increase their margin by

maximising their fee

Owners unfamiliar with value engineering objectives can view contractor developed

value engineers proposals as a failure on the engineers part, believing such savings

should have been part of the original design [29]

Little capabilities of hired design firms in terms VE familiarity concepts

Short time given to VE workshop which may lead to unimpressive results

Unmotivated evaluation team due to lack of incentives by the client during VE

evaluation phase. This may lead

Lack of professional experience to VE evaluating team which doesn’t bring a different

perspective to the project

Etc

Benefits of Constructability, LC and VE

Talking about how much Constructability, LC and VE has benefited the construction industry

and the project management in particular; it’s an aspect that goes beyond being successful but

of the change that impacted the whole industry players to have new orientation about

construction project delivery. As simply saying is maximizing client’s satisfaction through

proper allocation of available resources, few delays time and credible quality.

Constructability Review

There are tangible benefits to be gained from implementing constructability in any building

project. Some of these benefits may be manifest, others more obscure, some quantitative in

nature while others are more subjective. Benefits can also be quite pragmatic, measurable not

only in terms of cost, time and quality, but in terms of the physiological and psychological

gains for the building team members. The benefits of constructability have become well

recognised ([3]; [7]; [2]) and may extend across the total building process and include the

following: better conceptual planning; more effective procurement; improved design; better

construction methods; more accomplished site management; more effective teamwork; higher

job satisfaction; increased project performance; and enhanced recognition for the participants.

Lean Construction

Benefits of Lean approach to construction depend on tools and techniques used during the

implementation in any construction project delivery. Based on the latter, the following are

benefits of applying Lean construction principles as studied by O’Connor & Swain, 2013 [30].

Improved project delivery performance in terms of value, quality, programme and cost



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Alignment of all parties to deliver against an agreed set of project objectives

Clarity of communication

Less process waste, which should result in less time and/or resources

Improved performance in safety, quality, delivery and cost

Provides a clear view of the best way to carry out a project and/or to operate business

Processes in a way that seeks to maximise customer value

Improves predictability and productivity through all processes

Identifies opportunities for pre-fabrication to aid on-site productivity

Provides detailed information to help develop the current best standard practice to

support

Productivity and reduce variability in methods and performance

Creating standard operations (or job details) with those people who carry out the work

Helps to develop ownership of identifying the best current method and supports

continuous improvement

Etc

Value Engineering

Although value engineering began as a cost-saving measure, it is becoming a valued project

management technique that addresses all aspects of the building lifecycle from the initial

construction through the sustainability of sourced materials and utility efficiency of the final

project [31]. The project team can bring positive environmental and social impact solutions to

the table including methods for reducing carbon footprint of transportation, building, and

operation as well as suggestions that positively affect the safety and wellness of surrounding

community.

Other benefits of VE in construction, includes:

Improve Project Schedule Time

Improve constructability quality

Resolve stakeholders issues

Reduce operating costs

Reduce overall project costs



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METHODS

As for this research, to study the importance of evolving construction project management

techniques namely lean construction, constructability and value engineering in the construction

industry particularly on construction projects delivery; as well as to assess their current practice

and impact.

This research is limited only to building construction projects only as stated in the topic title.

The research was conducted countrywide. The questionnaire for the first survey was distributed

either personally or via e–mail to 164 professionals involved in construction industry. All

questioned participants were returned for analysis in time with 100% overall response rate. In

this research, participants are currently either involved in construction related fields such

academics and construction projects works. Based on work experience and employment

position, it was deduced that their responses have adequate knowledge of the activities

associated with construction project risk. The procedure, findings, and relevant discussion of

the analyses are detailed in the following section.

DISCUSSION & CONCLUSION

Discussion

With exception of Lean Construction, the majority of participants confirmed their knowledge

of other two construction project management (CPM) techniques discussed in this research.

Respondents were supposed to use “Yes “or “No” to answer about their familiarity with these

concepts as shown.

Table 1. Participants’ familiarity with Constructability, LC and VE

CPM Techinique YES (Number) NO (Number) Total

Constructability

Review 113 51 164

Lean construction 67 97 164

Value Enginering 134 30 164

Respondents of the current research said that anywhere properly implemented during project

delivery; any of the three techniques brings efficiency and effectiveness regarding project

delivery. Participants gave their answers by means of rating the production of using any of the

three techniques as per table 2.

Table 2. Productivity during project delivery

CPM Techinique High (%) Medium (%) Low (%) Total

Constructability Review 87 12 1 100

Lean construction 78 20 2 100

Value Enginering 88 11 1 100



Vol.6, No.1, pp.1-16, May 2018



Most of the interviewees of this research confirmed that the main reasons hampering the quick

application of evolving project management techniques in project delivery are majorly based

on relying on traditional methods of project management and lack of knowledge concerning

those techniques. That is per table 3 below.

Table 3. Barriers to application of evolving project management techniques

Barriers Frequency (No) Percentage (%)

Professionals lack knowledge concerning

evolving techniques

54 32.93

Clients don't provide enough resources for

process study

21 12.80

clients don't recognize the value of applying

new techniques

12 7.32

Relying on traditional methods of project

management

54 32.93

Past experience of failure of evolving PM

techniques

19 11.59

Others

4 2.44

Total

164 100.00

Finally, the interviewed professionals confirmed the need by construction industry of applying

any of the evolving project management techniques. Participants advised construction related

platforms and institutions to make known those techniques to all concerned parties; design and

construction firms to increase their motivation to value the benefits of using any of the evolving

construction project management tools so as to maximize the project objectives.

CONCLUSION

Constructability puts much focus on proper integration of knowledge management at both

technical and managerial levels at all stage of the construction to achieve the drawn objectives.

Lean construction apart from seeking proper project delivery, it places its much emphasis on

to design production systems to minimize waste of materials, time, and effort in order to

generate the maximum possible amount of value.

Value Engineering focuses on the sustainability of sourced materials and utility efficiency of

the final project.

Conclusively saying, Constructability review, Lean construction and Value engineering

techniques tools focus on the use of knowledge management to assessing inputs ahead of

production process so as to successfully achieve the stated outputs. Therefore they provide a

good consideration for construction sector as significant and impactful principles for proper

project delivery.



Vol.6, No.1, pp.1-16, May 2018



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